Major Woody's TR 9/18 thru 9/24/02 Day 1 followed by the rest of them....

[MajorWoody]

Who :

Bill, 44, State Police Investigator, numerous WDW trips and annual
passholder

Janine, daughter, age 15, numerous WDW trips and also AP holder

When :

Wednesday 9/18/02 thru Tuesday 9/24/02

Where :

Port Orleans, French Qtr

Plans:

This trip was originally supposed to be my wife & I, for the Epcot Pin
Event, but she was unable to get the time off. So we decided I would go with
our youngest daughter, and make it a week instead of a long weekend, and
still hit the pin event.

The Story:
Day 1, Wed 9/18/02

We awoke Wednesday morning at 4:30am, and it was very humid in upstate NY.
We were showered, dressed, and out the door at 5:15am, heading to Albany for
our flight. We made a quick stop at Denny's on Wolf Rd for breakfast, and
each had a French Slam. After polishing them off, we were out the door, and
at the airport at 7am.

We parked in the long-term parking, which at Albany is almost directly in
front of the terminal. It took us about 3 minutes to walk to the Southwest
ticket area, for check-in. I had gotten a great deal with Southwest, $99 r/t
each , and a non-stop flight to boot. Southwest does not have assigned
seats, rather they do a cattle call, with separate boarding times. They use
groups of a,b, and c. We ended up with group B, which I was sort of
surprised, since we were an hour and a half early. I later found out some
people get there 2-3 hours early to get the A seating. I was selected for
the full screening going through the security checkpoint, and while I'm glad
to see they did a very thorough job, I still think it's ridiculous to do
random searches. I saw several elderly women being selected for these
searches, which is a joke. It's sad to think that lives may be the price to pay for political correctness.

We got through the checkpoint, and made it to the gate. I bought a book at
the airport bookstore, and waited for the flight. When they began boarding,
it turns out besides the three lettered groups, they also have early
boarding for those with small children, which accounts for a good number on
Orlando flights. So we had to wait for that group, then the A group, then
finally the B group. As it was, we still got good seats, row 14, on the
right side. We also ended up getting the row to ourselves, which gave us a
bit of extra room during the flight. Janine took the window, and I got the
aisle. The plane took off at 8:30am, and we arrived at MCO after a nice,
uneventful flight, at 11:00am.

I always love the feeling of arriving at MCO, and today was no different. We
hustled over to the shuttle, and got to sit on the front seat ( which is
really more of a large shelf). We then headed down, got our bags, and then
made it to Dollar to pick up our car. I had reserved a compact car for $125
a week, (total of $161 with fees and taxes), using my Dollar Fastlane card
online. When we got to the counter, we were quickly attended to, and the
clerk kept asking me if I wanted to upgrade. I kept telling her no, I was
perfectly happy with a compact, and she finally gave me the paperwork, and
sent me out to the garage to claim my car. We got to the booth in the
garage,
and the clerk took our paperwork, and directed us to a brand new Jeep
Liberty, which had only 748 miles on it. So we ended up getting our upgrade
anyway, without having to pay anything extra. My daughter was pretty happy
with the car, and while it was not something I would buy, it was fun to
drive. We loaded up, and headed out at 11:40am.

Our first stop was going to be the Premium Outlets. We took 417 towards WDW,
and got off at 535. Somehow or other, I ended up going what I thought was
the wrong way, made a u-turn, then found out I was now going the wrong way,
and made another u-turn, but eventually made it to the outlet. There was
nothing spectacular in there on this trip. My wife wanted me to get some
beach towels, but they didn't have any. We did end up getting 3 mugs, an
Epcot, a Beach Club, and WDW mug, each marked down to 3.99, and Janine got a
t-shirt for a friend. We then left the outlet, and drove to our favorite
place, WDW.

We drove into the resort via the Hotel Plaza Blvd, since we were already on
535. It's not as grand an entry as going in thru World Drive, but it's still
nice all the same. There was a lot of construction by the Marketplace area.
We then drove to Port Orleans, and went to check-in at 1:00pm. This is our
first time at the original Port Orleans, we have stayed at the former Dixie
Landings several times, but never the original Port Orleans. I had heard so
many good reviews of it, and coupled with the $79 rate, I decided to try it.
We had a very nice CM at check-in. She asked if we had any preferences (I
had forgotten to fax in our preferences), and I asked about something near
the pool or the river, and non-smoking. She first tried to sell me a
waterview upgrade for $15 a night more, but I declined. It's not like you
are
in a deluxe resort with a balcony, where the water view is something you can
enjoy. She told me she had a good room, but it wasn't ready yet, if I didn't
mind waiting. I was in no hurry, so I told her that was fine. She gave us
our keys, and told us to check back after 3pm for the room number. She did
tell us it was close to the pool.

We then went back to the Jeep, and drove to the MK. One of my first things
to do at WDW is hit the MK, and get my haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop.
We got to the MK parking, and the place was empty. I forget the name of the
parking lot, but it's the closest one next to the handicapped lot. They also
had no trams running, so we had to walk to the TTC. Even though it was the
closest lot, we were not near the front, so it was quite a hike, and I
didn't bring a hat. I worked up a nice sweat getting there. We took the
monorail, and I went to Guest Relations. I had received the American Heroes
vouchers through our union, and we had been told that even though they
expired on 4/20/02, if we presented a letter from our agency stating that we
were precluded from taking vacation during the period of Jan thru April of
this year, they would honor the vouchers. I showed the CM the voucher, and
the letter, along with my ID. She called a supervisor, who said that the
extension had ended May 31. She said they mistakenly told some agencies that
it was good until 12/31 ( which was what our union had told us), but the
bottom line was that they would not honor it. I had bought my AP voucher
beforehand in case I ran into any problems, so I wasn't totally stuck. But
the supervisor CM then offered me two free 1 day hoppers for the
misunderstanding, which I gladly accepted. I asked if they were actually
hoppers, and she said they were. So that gave me two days to save before
activating my AP. Janine already had a current AP, so that wasn't a problem
at all.

We then went thru the turnstiles, and entered the MK. Our first stop was the
Barber Shop. Both barbers were working, but there were at least 5 people
waiting in line. So we then headed over to Expo Hall, just in time to catch
Scoop Sanderson giving one of his pin seminars. Scoop was doing fine as
always, and at the end of the seminar, gave out some nice certificates to
those in attendance. I then had a chance to give him a WWWD ( What Would
Walt Do ) pin that I had ordered for him. Back in May, he gave an
exceptional performance, and really made our trip that much better. I told
him why I had gotten him the pin,and he seemed truly moved by it. He really
is a nice guy, and I'm glad we got to see him this trip. He also gave a
Janine a nice USA lanyard pin as we were leaving. If you are in the MK, make
a point to seek out Scoop, even if you are not into pins. He is very
entertaining and a real asset to the MK.

At that point, we left, and checked the Barber Shop again. It was still
packed, and looked like at least an hour wait. We then walked down Main St,
but thru the shops. I found two lanyard pins on CM's, and traded for them.
We decided to eat lunch at the Pirate & the Parrot. We had 2 taco plates,
and a large coke, with the total coming to $12.59. The tacos were pretty
good, and we were both happy with the choice.

After the lunch break, we walked across to Pirates, and rode without a wait.
They actually had both sides open, even though there really wasn't a crowd.
After our voyage, we walked back to Main St, and made it to the Barber Shop,
just as the Share A Dream Come True parade was starting at the other end of
the park. I ended up having about a 45 minute wait for my haircut, but we
did have a great vantage point for the parade. When it was my turn in the
barber seat, I decided to go for the buzz cut, since it was pretty hot, and
I was getting to the point where there wasn't enough left on top anyway to
make much of a difference. It turns out the buzz cut is only $5, so I
actually got a great deal ( the normal haircut is $15). I left Michal with a
$5 tip, and he left me with a head full of Mickey glitter. Now I was ready
to begin my WDW vacation.

After the buzz cut, and now that the parade was over, things had cleared up
a bit in that area. We walked back to Expo Hall, where I bought a couple of
LE pins. We then left the MK, and took a monorail back to the TTC. We then
made the trek back to the car, and headed over to PO to see if our room was
ready.

We hit the front desk, and found we had been assigned to room 2134. We drove
around to the side to park, and found out that our room was directly in
front of the pool, 1st floor, building 2. It was also right near the boat
dock, although it was facing the pool. A very nice room location indeed. The
room itself was very nice, more than enough room for the two of us. We
unloaded our suitcases, and put things away. We then drove over to AKL for
our 6:00pm Boma dinner PS.

We arrived at Boma, just before the heavy rain. We got a little bit wet walking
from the parking lot to the lobby, but missed the worst part of it. We had a
few minutes to kill, so we walked around the lobby, and then the Zawadi
giftshop. We didn't buy anything inside, and eventually worked our way
downstairs to the restaurant. Boma has become my favorite WDW eatery, and I
have been eating dinner there 2x on every trip since it opened. In fact we
have had Mothers Day dinner at Boma both years since it has been open, not
bad for NY'ers! We were seated at one of the small tables just to the right
as you enter the dining room, right near where the display of wine bottles
is
( and also very close to the dessert bar). I had 3 bean gumbo soup ( they
didn't have my favorites tonight, corn chowder & chicken pepperpot), salad
greens, a PB&J qtr ( I always get one of these at Boma, they're great). I
then followed that with BBQ ribs, Durban chicken, a slice of prime rib with
Boma mustard, some of the mixed grilled veggies, the potatoes with afritude,
and washed it down with Fr'unch ( which you have to ask for at dinner, it's
not on the menu). I then hit the dessert bar and had some great mini
pineapple cheesecakes, and a chocolate mousse. Janine had some stuff from
the kids pod, and some chicken and prime rib, and of course a heavy helping
from the dessert bar. The total for the two of us came to $56, which
included the tip ( $46 & $10).

After that hearty repast, it was time to drive to Epcot. The rain had
passed, well most of it anyway. We arrived at Epcot at 7:15pm, and entered
with no delay. We rode Spaceship Earth, also with no wait. There is a female
CM who has the longest hair I've seen in ages, and she was working. One of
these trips I expect to see her hair down to the floor. She is always very
friendly, one of these days I'll have to ask her how hard it is to maintain
that long hair. After SE, we wanted to try the new JIYI, which had opened
since our last trip. We walked over, again there was no wait. We rode it,
and found it to be a big improvement over the lame ride that it replaced.
It's still not an E Ride, but we enjoyed it anyway. After JIYI, we walked
over to WS, via the Mexico side. We stopped at Germany, and I grabbed a
brewski at the little cart in Germany, a nice Becks Dark. We then settled
down and watched TOD, which is good but just a notch below TON. After the
parade, we walked over to USA, browsed for a little while, and walked back
to Germany, where I grabbed another brewski, and place to watch
Illuminations. There was a pretty good crowd in that area, so we started
walking around the WS as Illuminations was starting. We found a nice open
spot near Norway, and watched it from there. We had a good vantage point,
and enjoyed the show. As Illuminations ended, we walked slowly with the
crowd towards FW, and stopped in Mousegear to look around, but didn't buy
anything. After that, we hit the car, and still had enough energy to drive
to
the Marketplace.

At the Marketplace, we parked, and walked in near the World of Disney. Since
our last trip the new shops that had opened were the toy store, and the pin
trading place. So we first hit the pin place, where I traded with a Japanese
guy for a Japan POTC pin. Then we hit the toy store, and Janine got one of
the WDW Mr Potato Head dolls. You can put as many pieces as you can fit into
a box, for $12. The only catch is you have to be able to close the box. She
got something like 26 pieces in there, which was a pretty good deal. The
store is very nice, and has many one of a kind WDW related items, like the
board games, among other things. This store is definitely worth a stop.
We then hit World of Disney, where I got a couple of beach towels, and 3
postcards. I also pre-ordered B&TB, getting a choice of a free 2nd DVD for
pre-ordering, along with a pin.

Our shopping done, we then drove back to PO, and after a quick walk thru the
main building for a refillable mug (now up to $10.99)
made it back to the room, and hit the sack at midnight.

Stay tuned for day 2.....

 

[MajorWoody]

Who :

Bill, 44, State Police Investigator, numerous WDW trips and annual
passholder

Janine, daughter, age 15, numerous WDW trips and also AP holder

When :

Wednesday 9/18/02 thru Tuesday 9/24/02

Where :

Port Orleans, French Qtr

Plans:

This trip was originally supposed to be my wife & I, for the Epcot Pin
Event, but she was unable to get the time off. So we decided I would go with
our youngest daughter, and make it a week instead of a long weekend, and
still hit the pin event.

The Story:
Day 2, Thurs 9/19/02

Thursday started relatively early for us. We woke up at 8:30am. After
showers and tidying up, we were out the door at 9:40am. We stopped at the
food court, and had breakfast. We each ordered the French toast with
sausage, and used our refillable mug for fruit punch. The total came to
$10.58. After finishing breakfast, we drove over to Animal Kingdom. We
checked the shops near the oasis for any new stuff, including pins, but
didn't find anything interesting. We then walked over to Primeval Whirl, and
while the sign said 10 minute wait, we rode the left side with no wait. Both
sides were up and running, which was nice. The ride is fun, but nothing
spectacular. As we exited, we got FP's for later, which were good from 11:30
to 12:30. We ended up not using them though. We did a brief swing thru the
Dinorama area, which in my opinion is a dump. It looks like something
assembled cheaply and quickly to fill up space, and coupled with the
carnival type games ( which I think would have Walt rolling over in his
grave, or freezer, or wherever he is), is really out of a place in such a
beautiful park. We then walked over to Countdown To Extinction ( thats what
the toy model on my desk calls it), but now known as Dinosaur. We rode this
without a wait, in a car full of screaming teen girls. They actually made it
a much more fun ride with their antics.

After Dinosaur, we headed over to the Maharajah Jungle Trek, mainly to see
the tigers ( and the Komodo dragon too). The tigers were pretty much lolling
around, unlike our last trip when one was right up at the window eyeing us
like steaks in a butcher shop. After the Tiger Trek, we walked over to
Kilimanjaro Safari, and rode that without a wait, which is something you
don't see too often. We had a pretty good guide, and got a good amount
animal movement. The creaking bridge was working again also, for those who
wonder about that. The poacher scene no longer has guns in it, in fact it
only has one CM standing outside with a radio, with nobody in the poachers
vehicle. The safari is always nice, but the poacher storyline can disappear
and it wouldn't bother me.

After the safari, we did the gorilla walk, or Pangini Exploration as I think
it's called. At the gorilla window, two small babies were right next to the
window playing around, and we watched them for awhile. When we went outside
to the viewing area, there were a few more youngsters running around, but we
really didn't see much of the adults. We lingered for a few minutes, and
then headed out. We did find a couple of CM's with lanyard pins in the
indoor gorilla observation area though, so it was a good choice to walk
through there.

After all that walking, it was time to relax. We headed over to FlameTree
BBQ and bought the meal voucher for $11.58. This entitles you to a entree
choice, plus beverage, plus two additional coupons. The other coupons are
good for a bottle of soda, and either an ice cream or a box of popcorn. It's
a very good deal at that price. We split an order of BBQ chicken, and the
soda that came with it. There was more than enough for the two of us. It
included a 1/2 chicken, baked beans, a small corn on the cob, and the sody
pop.

After eating, we decided to check out Dinosaur again, so we walked over to
it. The line was outside the building at that time though, with about a 25
minute wait, so we passed. Janine then got a strawberry ice pop with the
voucher coupon, and I found another Japanese person, and traded a Mickey
NYFD pin for a Japan Minnie pin. We then exited the park, and got our soda
with the coupon at the stand just outside the main gate.

We then drove to Wal-Mart on 192, to get some supplies. We got batteries for
Janine's camera, liquid body soap, and facial cleanser. We then drove back
to PO in a light rain.

After arriving at PO, we parked the Jeep, and put our supplies in the room.
We then caught a bus to the Magic Kingdom, then took a monorail to the
Contemporary. Janine had wanted to rent a water mouse, so that was our plan.
We started out at 4:05pm, intending to ride for an hour, but the rains came
at 4:35pm, and they made us return. We still got in a good amount of time on
the boats though, and they only charged us for a half hour, the total coming
to $37.39 for two boats for the half hour, with the AP discount.

We then went up to the pin stand in the lobby of the Contemporary, and got
the Pin Pursuit Map. We got our first stamp there, and the corresponding
pin. The map has 7 stops, the 4 theme parks, the Contemporary, the WWOS, and
the DTD Pin shop. You get a stamp at each stop after answering a question,
and when it's complete, you get a free completer pin. They also had a
mystery LE 1000 pin at the pin stand, so I bought one of those. They told me
that they had the rest of the set at the Polynesian, the GF, and the MK. At
that time it was now pouring outside. So we hopped a monorail to the
Polynesian, bought the next LE 1000 pin there. We walked around for a few
minutes, then hit the GF via monorail. We then bought the next LE 1000 pin
in the set there. They told us that the one at the MK had sold out already,
so we were out of luck on completing the set. I did find a nice Minnie CM
balloon pin on a CM, and traded for that.

We then went to the bus stop, and caught a bus to MGM. The rain had pretty
much stopped at this time. We arrived at MGM at 5:30pm. We walked inside to
the BAH, and I got the pin map stamped, and bought the corresponding pin.

We then walked over to the ABC Commissary for chow. I got the Fish & Chips,
and Janine got the cheeseburger basket. We also got a large coke. The total
came to $15.45. The food was pretty good, and we were both finished it up.
The rain was starting up again, but not too heavy. We walked over to The
Great Movie Ride, and walked in. There was about a 2-3 minute wait. They
were only running one set of cars, which was the western set. We got a CM
with a very squeaky high pitched voice, almost comically high pitched. She
was pretty enthusiastic though, and it was a good ride.

After finishing TGMR, we decided to hit Star Tours. As we walked up to the
entrance, a I saw a co-worker of mine , Lou ( who works a different station now,
so I didn't know he was going to be down here). We went over to him and his
family, and exchanged greetings, and ended up talking for about 15 minutes.
What a surprise to stumble across someone you know in such a large place. We
then went in to ride Star Tours, while they were heading to the Hollywood &
Vine to eat. We had about a 5 minute wait to ride, it turned out they were
only using one simulator car, which accounted for the wait. The cabin was
totally full when we rode, due to them only using one.

After ST, we decided to walk over to the Tower of Terror. We got there
around 7:35pm, and there was no wait. We went in, and rode the ride, and
exited at about 8:05pm. We figured Fantasmic would be closed off, but they
were still letting people in, so we went inside. We ended up with the first
row in the standing room section, and had a pretty good view. Not bad for
walking in 5 minutes late. After Fantasmic ended, we took a slow walk
towards the exit, and I was asked about my pins by a small girl. I ended up
giving her one of my Walt locket pins for free, since she didn't really
have anything to trade. We then exited the park, and had to wait for the 2nd
bus to PO, due to the line. It was still only a 5 minute wait, though.

We arrived back at PO, and hit the pool for a while, then I hit the hot tub
for about 5 minutes, then a quick jump back into the pool to cool off. It
really is nice being so close to the pool and everything else, one of the
features of PO-FQ is it's so compact it's very easy to get from place to
place quickly. After the pool, Janine wanted to hit the arcade, so we
stopped in there for about 30 minutes, then hit the food court and split a
small cheese pizza, for $5.08. We then walked a lap around the resort, and
ended up hitting the room at 12:30am.

Stay tuned for Day 3......

 

[MajorWoody]

Who :

Bill, 44, State Police Investigator, numerous WDW trips and annual
passholder

Janine, daughter, age 15, numerous WDW trips and also AP holder

When :

Wednesday 9/18/02 thru Tuesday 9/24/02

Where :

Port Orleans, French Qtr

Plans:

This trip was originally supposed to be my wife & I, for the Epcot Pin
Event, but she was unable to get the time off. So we decided I would go with
our youngest daughter, and make it a week instead of a long weekend, and
still hit the pin event.

The Story:
Day 3, Fri 9/20/02

On Friday we got up at 8:45am, and our first stop of the day was over to the
Wide World of Sports, for the Pin Pursuit pin . It was the first time I've
ever been to WWOS. We only parked out front, and ran into the store for the
pin. I lucked out and found the CM with a lanyard series pin, so I traded
for that, and then bought the Map Pin. There appeared to be some sort of
softball tournament going on, but we really had no interest in it, so we
drove over to Epcot for the big pin event, arriving about 10:00am.

We parked at Epcot, and I went to Guest Relations and activated my AP, with
a minimal wait. We then entered the park, and headed over to Fountain View
Bakery for something to eat. There was a huge line inside the building for
the Pin Event, and the line even went outside. This was for people who had
purchased the pin event package. I had missed out on the package, as it sold
out in a few hours when the day it went on sale. As it turned out, some of
the people in line ended up waiting 4-5 hours for the priviledge of buying
pins. I guess I'm pretty lucky I didn't get in on the package after all. At
Fountain View we ordered two chocolate croissants and a large coke, for a
total of $8.35. We ate inside, and watched the crowd in the building move
exceedingly slow.

After finishing our eats, we headed over to Pin Central. I moseyed around
for awhile, and Janine went over to Test Track and got us two FP's good for
11:30am->12:30pm. I didn't do much at the Pin Trading, and saw that the
event lines were still humongous. At 11:30am we went over to TT, and got in
the FP line. We ended up waiting about 15 minutes, as the ride broke down
when we were in line. We finally made it on, and had a nice ride. After we
exited, we got some more FP's, and the machine ended up spitting out 4
instead of 2, good for 12:30pm->1:30pm.

We then walked across FW to the new Figment ride, passing the still huge and
very slow moving Pin Event line. We rode Figment, and there was no wait, and
in fact, there were only two other people on the ride with us.

After finishing up at the Imagination Pavillion, we walked back to Pin
Central. The lines were still ridiculous at the event, which was now open to
the public, so I didn't bother getting in line. At Pin Central, I got the Pin
Pursuit pin, and a new Mickey in a rubber poncho pin. I also traded with a
Japanese guy, and got a nice Tinkerbell pin. We then walked back to Test
track, and used the FP for a quick spin, with no waits or breakdowns this
time. As we exited, we saw an older couple looking to join the standby line,
so we gave them our extra two FP's, which they got use without having to
wait in line.

We then walked over to the Pin Event, and the lines were still out the door,
with no signs of improving. We went into the open area inside the building,
and got into the Pin Store that had open edition pins, buying the daily map
pins and the days free completer pin. We also ran into Chuck from NJ, who my
wife has traded with in the past, and found a few pins to trade. When we
were done, the lines for the event LE pins was still out the door, so we
headed out to WS.

We walked along the Mexico side of WS, and Janine stopped at the small ring
carver stand next to the outdoor cantina. She had wanted an engraved ring,
and found one she liked, that cost $22 ( which included the engraving). The
ring took about 15 minutes to complete, and came out very nicely. We then
took a slow stroll around the WS, and ended up at Yakitori House, in the
Japan Pavillion. We ordered two kushiyakis ( which is skewered beef,
chicken, shrimp with rice and broccoli), and one large coke. The total came
to $17.97. After finishing up the tasty lunch, we stopped by the Kaki Gori
stand out front, and ordered up two KakiGoris, which came to $4.50. They
were a nice break on a humid day.

We then continued our lap around the WS on the UK side, with no major
distractions. We ended up back at the Pin Event, and found out that they had
closed down the lines at 2:30pm, due to the excessive delays. So it looked
like we were shut out from purchasing any of the LE pins. It was sort of
annoying, but it's not like the day had been wasted.

After that , we walked over to Universe of Energy, and I ended up having a
nice refreshing nap on the ride. I guess I was more tired than I had
realized, hopefully I didn't snore and disturb the dinosaurs.

After that refreshing break, we left Epcot, and drove over to Boardwalk,
where I parked. For those who monitor such things, I wasn't beating Disney
out of a parking fee, as I planned on going to MGM, and then back to BW
after MGM closed. Plus, since we were staying at a Disney Resort ( and also
since we have AP's), the parking is free anyway. We walked thru the lobby,
and went down to the boat dock. We caught a boat to MGM, and arrived at MGM
at 6:00pm, just as it started to rain heavily. We entered the park, and went
to RnRC, which we rode with no wait. We asked for and got the front row,
which is the best seat in my opinion. The front seems to have a bit more
legroom, a better view, and is not as rough as the rear seats. After RnRC, I
called my friend Lou, and we met up by the Pin Junction. We talked for
awhile, while Janine and Lou's family watched the street entertainers. They
were doing some sort of joke contest, but I really didn't pay too much
attention to it. They finally went to 50's Prime Time to eat, and we weren't
hungry, so we went over to the Big Hat. There wasn't much doing there, so we
decided to do the Muppet 3D show. We got in, made sure the key was still
under the mat ( it was) and had a brief 5 minute wait for the next Muppet
show. We ended up in the center, towards the rear, which are very good
seats. The theater was only about 1/3 full. There was a whining baby, but
the mother did the honorable thing, and took him outside rather quickly.

After Muppetvision, we walked back over to RnRC, and this time there was a 5
minute wait. We rode it again, and again got the front row with no problem.
After we exited, we waited for Lou and his family, who were planning on
meeting us at the Tower of Terror at 7:30pm. After waiting until 7:45, we
gave up, and rode TOT ourselves, with no wait. After we rode it, it was now
8pm, and we didn't feel like watching Fantasmic. I called Lou, and it turned
out they were still in 50's Prime Time Cafe, having been stuck waiting for
their table. We walked over, and gabbed with them as they were finishing up,
and posed for some pictures. Lou's wife, coincidentally, works for my
brother at the NYSP Lab, and she was going to mix in some pics of me &
Janine with them, and nonchalantly show them to my brother, without
mentioning she met us. We thought it was a pretty funny idea. After that was
done, we all exited the park together, with Lou and his family heading to
the bus stops, while Janine & I went to the dock, and caught the boat. We
exited the boat at the Swan, as I've always enjoyed the walk from the Swan
to the BW. We checked the Pin Cart at BW, and I found the CM had a ncie
Sleeping Beauty pin, so I did a trade for that. We decied to head over to
the Contemporary, as they had Pin Trading there on Friday nights. We
arrived, and it took forever to find a parking spot, but we finally did,
although it was about as far away as you could get. We walked inside, and
went up to the Grand Concourse area. There were alot of traders in there,
but it was really too crowded for us, and a bit too overwhelming, as I'm not
a real pin expert. So we went down to the Food n Fun center, and got some
grub. We ordered a cheeseburger plate, a pepporini pizza, and a coke, and a
slushie, which came to $16.60, After eating, we hit the arcade for a while,
then called it a night and drove back to the PO.

We arrived at our room, and found that there was no shampoo left by
the maid. I guess they expected that one tiny bottle to last us all week,
even though it only made it one day. We then hit the pool for a few minutes,
and I hit the hot tub for a few more minutes. We then hit the aracde again,
played a few games of air hockey, and then went back to the room, going to
sleep around midnight.

Stay tuned for the next installment.....

 

[MajorWoody]

Who :

Bill, 44, State Police Investigator, numerous WDW trips and annual
passholder

Janine, daughter, age 15, numerous WDW trips and also AP holder

When :

Wednesday 9/18/02 thru Tuesday 9/24/02

Where :

Port Orleans, French Qtr

Plans:

This trip was originally supposed to be my wife & I, for the Epcot Pin
Event, but she was unable to get the time off. So we decided I would go with
our youngest daughter, and make it a week instead of a long weekend, and
still hit the pin event.

The Story:
Day 4, Sat 9/21/02


We got up at 8:45am on Saturday, and after getting squared away, we headed
over to the PO Food Court for a hearty breakfast. We ordered two orders of
pancakes and sausage, which came to $10.58. After finishing up, we caught a
bus to Epcot, and another try at the big Pin Event.

We arrived at Epcot, and made our way into Pin Central ( what a surprise,
ehh?) They had a new pin, the Belle 1st Day of Fall, with a limit of 2, so
we got those, and in what was becoming the standard MO, Janine went over to
Test Track, and got us two FP's. There wasn't much else for us to do at the
Pin Central, so since our FP's were now valid, we went over and rode TT.
The standby line was at 40 minutes, so it was a good thing we had gotten the
FP's. We had a nice ride, with no breakdowns or other incidents.

After riding TT, we went over to the big Pin Event, and found that the
problems of yesterday had been rectified, and there were no lines inside at
all. We went in, and I bought a whole slew of the event pins , and by a
whole slew, I mean to the tune of $457 worth. I had no idea they were going
to cost that much, but it seemed like a smart idea at the time. They did
have some very nice pins, and hopefully we'll be able to trade some of the
duplicates down the road for other nice event pins. After that wallet
draining experience, we went inside and did the daily pin map, getting our
free Tinkerbell completer. They would give you a pin map, which had several
questions, and when you completed the answers, you presented the map and
received your free completer pin. They had a different one for each day, and
they limited them to one per person. A small token of thanks I guess, for
people like us who blow a bundle on pins.

After that was done, we went outside, and I moseyed over to the ATM, while
Janine watched the Kristos contortionist show by the fountain. They seemed
pretty remarkable, and I have to make a point to catch their entire set on
one of my future trips.

After that was over, we ambled over to the Living Seas, and after posing for
a quick picture outside, which a CM happily offered to take of the two of
us, we entered. The ride is now gone, and since we bypassed the pre-show
movie, we were sent straight to the hydrolater, which emptied us near the
gift shop ( another big surprise). We ended up spending a bit of time
downstairs, and enjoyed watching the jellyfish exhibit, the manatees, and
the seahorses in their little tank. After we tired of the Living Seas, we
walked over to the Land Pavillion. We haven't rode the Living With The Land
boatride since it went to a FP, as we never felt it was worth wasting the FP
on. However, since we were there, and there was only a 15 min wait for the
FP timeframe, we got two FP's. We then hit the Sunshine Food Court in the
pavillion, and got a brownie sundae ( which was huge), and a large coke. The
total came to $6.98, and we were unable to finish the brownie sundae. It was
actually quite good too, but it was just too large and filling.
We then went over and rode the land boat ride, which hasn't really changed
since we last rode. It's still interesting though, but I think it should not
be a FP. After that ride, we then left the pavillion.

Since we were in the area, we decided it was time to visit our old friend
Figment again. Once again there was no line, and we rode without any wait.
The new ride is a vast improvement over the JIYI that it replaced, and while
it's not an e-ride, I have to thank the powers that be for listening to the
volume of complaints and improving the attraction, which I'm sure is a
difficult thing to for them to admit they screwed up.

After that ride was done, we walked past Pin Central, with nothing of note
there. We then browsed the Art of Disney store adjacent to Spaceship Earth,
but I didn't see anything I wanted at that time, no doubt sensing the heavy
hit on my wallet from the pin purchases.

We then exited Epcot, and caught the monorail to the TTC, getting lucky and
ending up with the front seat. We then transferred to the MK monorail, and
sat with the regular throngs. We entered the MK, and went straight to City
Hall, where I checked on PS's for tonights dinner. Janine wanted to eat at
Chef Mickey's, but they had no PS's open at all for that evening. I already
had a PS for 'Ohana, but she wanted to try for Chef Mickeys. We then
wandered over to Expo Hall, and I got the I Conquered the World Pursuit map
series pin that I needed. I also asked for and received the 100 Question AP
Challenge book. This is a booklet that has 100 questions, grouped by
sections in the Magic Kingdom. If you complete the 100 questions, they give
you a free 5x7 photo from the kiosk in Expo Hall. This challenge is only
good for annual passholders. We planned on doing the challenge at a later
day, as the questions seemed pretty challenging and we didn't have the time
right then.

We then left the MK, and caught the monorail to the Contemporary. I needed
batteries for my 100 Years of Magic Pins, and finally ( after getting sent
from one place to another by CM's), found them in the sundry shop in the
Concourse. I bought the batteries, and replaced them in my pins, so they
would once again light up. I also found that the CM in the sundry shop had a
Minnie license plate lanyard pin, so I traded with her, so it ended up being
a nice stop. We then walked over to Chef Mickey's podium, and were rewarded
with a 5:00pm PS . We were seated in a short while, and commenced to
hitting the victuals. I had chicken corn chowder soup, the peel 'n eat
shrimp, the tomato & mozzarella, the prime rib, the mashed spuds ( which
Janine loves here, but I don't think are that good), and the BBQ beans. I
then had the key lime pie for dessert. Janine feasted on the shrimp,
the ravioli, the chicken, a load o' spuds, and the dessert bar revue, which
seemed to include one of everything from the dessert bar. I eased up on the
desserts, as I had a rather upset stomach at the end of the meal, which
almost caused me to have to return to the hotel to rest. The dinner came to
$50.86, plus a $10 tip, for a total of $60.86. The price of the buffet is
now up to $23.99, I seem to recall it was $21.99 as of May. After finishing
up, we caught a monorail to the MK, and I was still feeling queasy, but not
too queasy to chance missing SpectroMagic. We walked thru Tomorrowland, and
found several answers to the 100 Question Challenge. We obtained FP's for
Buzz Lightyear for 7:35pm, and in the waiting time rode Tomorrowland Transit
Authority 2x, which helped us with a few of the answers to the challenge.
After our 2nd trip on TTA, we walked around Tomorrowland, and found the rest
of the answers, although we did get one hard to find one from a CM who
looked at a cheat sheet in his register drawer.

We then went back to Buzz Lightyear, which had a good long standby line, but
we passed by with our FP's, and soon were shooting down aliens like the
sidewinding dirtbags they are. I ended up with a score of 153,900, good for
a Planetary Pilot rating, while Janine ended up with a score of 32,000,
labeling her a Ranger 1st Class.

After that ride was done, we took a walk to Fantasyland, where I saw there
was no line at all for Mad Tea Party. So we rode that, for the 1st time ever
for us, which is pretty surprising considering how many times we've been
there. By now my tummy was no longer rumbly, so we did some really high
speed spinning on the Tea Cup. After that was over, we walked along the side
castle path to Liberty Square, and ended up over by the Riverboat dock for
Spectro. The crowds were very heavy, much more than I had seen at Spectro in
quite some time. We ended up about 4-5 people back in the crowd, but still
had a good line of sight for Spectro. The parade finally made it's way
towards us, and it was as great as ever. The Chernabog failed to open, but I
don't know if it was because of the area it was in, or a mechanical problem.
After the closing strains of the parade music, we took our time exiting the
park, leaving by walking thru the shops on Main St. In the Emporium, I asked
a CM what was the best way to get to Downtown Disney, as I had forgotten
if there was a direct bus from the MK parking lot, or if you had to go to
the TTC. He told us that we had to go to the TTC, so we exited the park, and
caught the monorail to TTC. We then walked over to the bus area besides the
TTC, and couldn't find the bus for DD. I went to the bus dispatch office,
and asked a CM named Sammy where to find the DD bus. She told me that there
was no bus to DD from TTC in a rather condescending tone. I mentioned that
the Emporium CM had directed me here, and she said " That's what you get for
asking a gift shop CM" in a real nasty tone. She then went back into her
inner office without telling me what I was supposed to do. I couldn't
believe her lousy attitude and lack of concern for a guest. I saw a cabbie
nearby, and just decided to take a cab, which ended up costing me $10, plus
a $5 tip. I ended up getting dropped off right outside the World of Disney,
and the cabby was a very nice woman, so it ended up alright. It was now
9:30pm, so we went into WOD, and got a sweatshirt that Janine had wanted,
which came to $38 with the Disney Club discount. We then went to the DTD Pin
Traders, where I presented my complete I Conquered the World map, and was
rewarded with the free completer pin. We then took the boat back to Port
Orleans, although it was not that easy to find. I had never rode the PO boat
before, and there are not too many signs explaining where it is. I finally
found it, it's on the far side of Cap'n Jacks for those who care, and we
rode it back. It took about 30 minutes, and was a nice way to relax.

We returned to our room, saw there was still no shampoo and our Do Not
Disturb sign was gone too. We changed, hit the pool, the hot tub, and the
pool again. We then went into the arcade, but I felt sickly, so we returned
to the room, and it was lights out at 11:20pm. Janine had called when we
first got back from DD, and asked for a Do Not Disturb sign. Wouldn't you
know it, at 11:59, just as I was hitting dreamland, a loud knocking at the
door signaled the arrival of the Do Not Disturb sign. No sooner did I slide
back into dreamland when a loud family decided to hold a gathering outside
close to our room. I eventually made it to sleep with no further
distractions.

Stay tuned for Sundays episode.....

 

[MajorWoody]

Who :

Bill, 44, State Police Investigator, numerous WDW trips and annual
passholder

Janine, daughter, age 15, numerous WDW trips and also AP holder

When :

Wednesday 9/18/02 thru Tuesday 9/24/02

Where :

Port Orleans, French Qtr

Plans:

This trip was originally supposed to be my wife & I, for the Epcot Pin
Event, but she was unable to get the time off. So we decided I would go with
our youngest daughter, and make it a week instead of a long weekend, and
still hit the pin event.

The Story:
Day 5, Sun 9/22/02

Sunday started with wake-up at 9:15am, and no signs of tummy troubles. I
updated my notes, and then we drove to Epcot, arriving at 11:15am. We hit
the Pin Event center, and got the daily Pin Map, answered the questions, and
got the free Mickey completer pin. I went inside and bought the days
allotment of LE pins, only spending a mere $191 today, quite a break from
yesterday. We then walked over to Mexico, and had lunch at the Cantina De San
Angel. We ordered two wet burrito plates ( which probably was not the
smartest move considering last nights upset stomach), and a large coke, with
the total coming to $17.12. The burritos were very good, a step above Taco
Bell stuff. We ate along the lagoon, and it was one of those times when you
realize just how good life can be, sitting along the World Showcase on a
beautiful day with your daughter.

After eating, we walked along the WS to Italy, checked out the pins there
and browsed the shops. We then walked to the USA, saw that we had some time
to kill before the next shows, and walked over to the Kaki Gori stand at
Japan, where we got two Kaki Goris, for $4.50. We saw the candy lady was
making candy outside of the Japan department store, so we watched her for
about 5 minutes. She made a penguin, a dragon, and an elephant, if I recall.
She is really gifted, and if you have little ones, you should consider
catching her presentation, and the youngster might end up with a tasty
souvenir.

We then walked back to the American Pavillion, and got there just in time
for the Fife & Drum Corps. They performed a stirring group of patriotic
songs, and it culminated with gathering all the kids in front, and reciting the
Pledge of Allegiance. We then went into the rotunda, and sat on the floor
right up front, awaiting the Voices of Liberty. They came out at 1:15pm and
sang for about 20 minutes, once again putting on a great show. We then went
over and looked at the flag that was recovered from the World Trade Center,
which was nicely presented. It's along the west wall if you want to go
inside and see it. We then joined the crowds in watching the American
Adventure, in a theater that wasn't even a quarter full. After that was
over, we went outside, just in time for the Fife & Drums to come out again.
So we stayed and watched their set, which they climaxed with a very moving
version of Taps, where the flute player ( or is it the fife?) went up to the
America Gardens Theater upper light tower, playing along as sort of an
echo. It was very moving, and very beautiful. After they finished, there was
no way I was going to miss the Voices of Liberty, so we walked back inside,
just in time for the next VOL show. We again sat right up front on the
floor, where the sound is the best. Everytime we go there, they always have
to ask people to move up, as most people try to keep in the back. I guess
most people don't realize how much better it sounds when you are underneath the
rotunda.

After that show was over, we left the pavillion, and walked over to Japan.
Janine wanted to try the pearl thing inside the store. She paid her $12.95,
and then picked out an oyster. She was rewarded with a a nice 8mm pearl,
which elicited the drum roll and congratulations chorus from the clerks. If
you pick a pearl that is over 7.5mm, you are entitled to the drum roll and
chorus of congratulations from the clerks. It's a very cute little ceremony.
She then took her pearl, and had it made into a charm, which cost an
additional $25. It came out very nicely, and for a total of $38 was a very
nice souvenir.

After that, we strolled over to Morocco, where we got some nice pictures
with Genie & Aladdin, although Jasmine was nowhere to be found. Janine also
got a pressed penney while we were there.

We then walked to France, and got our pics taken with Belle inside the shop
next to the perfume place. We then continued on to the UK, and in the spirit
of things, I got my picture with Mary Poppins. We then walked thru Canada,
but alas, I didn't get any pictures taken.

We then walked back to the FW, and walked by the Pin Event, but didn't stop.
We then rode Spaceship Earth, with no wait.

We then left Epcot, and drove to Port Orleans, where it was laundry time. I
loaded up the washers, and hit the pool & hot tub while the laundry was
washing. The rain then started, and we finished up the laundry and returned
to the room. We got dressed, and drove over to Animal Kingdom Lodge, as we
had 6:00pm dinner ressies at Boma again.

We arrived at AKL, and parked, just as the rain ended. We went to Boma, and
had a 10 minute wait for a seat, ending up with the same exact table as our
last time. I had the seafood gumbo soup, the field greens, my usual PB&J
quarter, the marinated flank steak ( which was very spicy tonight), the Durban
chicken, the potatoes with afritude, the prime rib, and fr'unch to wash it
down. I then hit the dessert bar , getting the pineapple cheesecake,
chocolate mousse, and the meringue tarts. Dinner for the two of us came to
$50.86, plus a $10 tip.

We then left AKL, and drove to Downtown Disney. I bought the Pleasure Island
passes, which had the special $5 5-day add-on feature. So with AP discounts,
we paid $43.84 for the two. We went in, and ended up catching 3 Comedy Warehouse shows.
Unfortunately, I can't find the notes for those shows, so that's all you
will read about them. We also got 2 lanyard pins from CM's, and caught the
new member induction ceremony at the Adventurers Club. We exited in time for
the NYE midnight fireworks, then left when that was over. We were in the
room at 12:20am, and asleep shortly thereafter. after a brief note-updating
session.

Next up, Mondays details.....

 

[MajorWoody]

Who :

Bill, 44, State Police Investigator, numerous WDW trips and annual
passholder

Janine, daughter, age 15, numerous WDW trips and also AP holder

When :

Wednesday 9/18/02 thru Tuesday 9/24/02

Where :

Port Orleans, French Qtr

Plans:

This trip was originally supposed to be my wife & I, for the Epcot Pin
Event, but she was unable to get the time off. So we decided I would go with
our youngest daughter, and make it a week instead of a long weekend, and
still hit the pin event.

The Story:
Day 6, Mon 9/23/02


We started Monday by getting up at 9:15am. We weren't moving that quickly,
as we didn't make it to the bus stop until 11:00am. We took the bus to the
Magic Kingdom, planning on doing the 100 question challenge. We went to Expo
Hall, we were ran into Scoop Sanderson, and chatted with him for a few
minutes. We got a nice Goofy license plate lanyard pin from him, and he
perused the 100 question book, and gave us a hint or two. We then strolled
down Main St, seeking out the answers to the questions. We were doing pretty
good, until we got distracted by the smell wafting out of the Main St
Bakery. It lured us inside, and we ordered up an apple turnover & a cinnamon
roll, along with an orange juice. The total came to a measly $6.65. The
apple turnovers here are some of the best I have ever found, and coupled
with the great feeling of being in the MK, makes for an unbeatable
combination.

After that little break, and having completed most of the Main St questions
on the challenge, we headed over to Adventureland. We did the Swiss Family
Treehouse, as that was required to obtain a couple of answers. We then went
to POTC, and rode the left side with no wait. After Pirate's, Janine went to
Splash Mtn and got us FP's for Splash, good for 12:40->1:40pm. I stayed in
the Pirates area seeking answers to the challenge, some of which were very
hard to find. When 12:40 rolled around, Janine went and got us FP's for Big
Thunder Mtn. We then rode Splash Mtn, and we both got totally soaked, I
don't recall ever getting that wet on Splash except during rainstorms. We
exited, checked Pecos Bills for another 100 Questions answer, searched
around Frontierland for some answers, and then rode BTMRR with our FP.

After BTMRR, our previous jaunt thru Pecos Bills had convinced us to try
some burgers there. I rarely eat burgers at Disney World, as there are so
many other choices available. Anyway, we ordered 2 cheeseburger baskets, and
1 large coke, with the total coming to $14.28. A nice feature at Pecos Bills
is that they have a large fixin's bar, with grilled and raw onions, sliced
tomatos, pickles, and the usual condiments. It was a nice upgrade to the
usual generic burger joints.

After we finished lunch, we got a FP for the Haunted Mansion, which had just
re-opened after being closed for a few weeks. The FP's were good for
4:05->5:05pm. We went to the Liberty Belle and asked the skipper about one
of the 100 questions, and he wouldn't tell us the answer, telling us we had
to ride to find out. Since we had never rode this before, we decided to give
it a spin. The ride was ok, but nothing spectacular. We did find the answer
while riding, though, so it wasn't a waste of time. I don't think I'll be
riding that anytime soon again, though.

After the boat ride, we walked over to Fantasyland, for some more of the
challenge. At that point, the heaven's opened, and the deluge came. We
waited it out inside Tink's Treasures, but I did manage to find some answers
in that general area. After the rain ended, we watched the Share A Dream
Come True Parade from the side path alongside the castle, going to Liberty
Square. As soon as the parade ended, it was back to the challenge, and I
finished up Fantasyland. We then wandered to Toontown, where I was stumped
on one question, but finally, with the help of a sympathetic CM, was told
where to look for the answer. When Toontown was finally done, we headed back
to the Haunted Mansion for our FP. There was 35 minute standby wait, which
is one of the longest I have ever seen at the Haunted Mansion. We rode it
using our FP, and had a great time.

After HM, we went back to Main St, where I finished up the 100 questions. We
then went to Expo Hall, and redeemed the book. We were directed to the photo
kiosk, and picked the monorail photo background, where they take your
picture, and insert it into the monorail cabin. It came out very nicely, and
was a fun ending to a nice day. I hope they continue this program, either at
MK, or the other parks. It really causes you to look at things you might
normally overlook, and makes for a fun day.

After the photo was done, we left the MK, and took the bus back to Port
Orleans. We had an outstanding bus driver, named Ron. He kept up the banter
the entire trip, and made the ride a lot of fun. I thanked him as we exited,
and I really appreciate CM's like Ron who go the extra length to make our
vacations so much fun. At the hotel, we dropped off the picture, and Janine
changed her clothes. We then caught a bus to Epcot, since it was our last
night and we always try to hit Illuminations on the last night. We got to
Epcot at 6:00pm, and made it to Pin Central when the heavy, and I do mean
heavy, rains came. We waited it out for a short while, but eventually made
it over to the Ice Station Cool. Janine managed to convince a few people of
the great taste of Beverly, and we left before one of those lucky tasters
throttled us. We then went to the boat dock, and caught the boat to France,
for our 7:00pm dinner ressies at Chef's De France. The boat got us there
just in time, and after a real short wait, we were escorted to our seats,
one row removed from the windows. We did have a good view of the comic mime
outside. I can't recall his name, but he is very funny, starting off his act
with the valise, which he seems to be struggling with , and getting a kid
from the audience to help him with. He then does some balloon twisties for
the kids, all the while doing a funny routine. When he was done, the living
statue came out, and we watched her from our seat. For dinner, I had the
lobster bisque ( which I didn't care for, very salty and more like tomato soup),
and Janine had the tomato cheese
appetizer ( which she graciously shared with me). I had the duck entree, while Janine had the kids cheeseburger,
since she wasn't all that hungry. With two cokes, the total came to only
$44, plus $10 for the tip, a very reasonable price for a nice dinner. We
finished dinner at 8:00pm, and due to the heavy rains, Tapestry of Dreams
was cancelled. The rain then eased up, and we walked over to the American
pavillion. We went inside, and took pictures of the World Trade Center flag.
We then walked to Gemany, where I got a brewski from the outdoor beer cart,
just as the rain picked up again. We sought cover under the glass etching
stand, and Janine decided to get an etched coffee mug for my sister, her
aunt. The mug came to $13.25, and was very reasonable for the quality. At
9:00pm Reflections of Earth started, and the rain was still coming down,
although not as heavily as before. We walked towards France during ROE,
watching it as we walked. After it was over, we exited through the
International Gateway, and strolled along the Boardwalk. At Boardwalk, we
caught a bus to Pleasure Island.

We arrived at Pleasure Island, and got in line for the 10:30pm Comedy
Warehouse show. This show featured Mary, Jen, Matt, Eddie, and everyone's
favorite, Layden!. They first did the name rhyme game. They followed that up
with different themes for fixing a toilet ( why does someone always suggest
toilet or bathroom ideas?), using Layden, Mary, and Matt. Just like old
times, Layden was hilarious, and stole the show. They followed this with
Should Have Said, using Jenn, Matt, and Layden, with Mary on the bell. After
that they did This Is Your Life, which was pretty good. Layden really made
the night a hit, I wish he was back there full time, but I don't think he
is.

After that show was over, we hit Adventurers Club for a while, then went
outside, saw the NYE fireworks, then got in line for the 12:05am CW show. I
was hoping Layden was in the cast again, but it wasn't to be. This show
featured Jen, Joy, Mary, Eddie, & Matt. They started with the phone call to
the audience, and followed that with the whole cast doing the a freeze frame
skit. That was followed by Joy & Matt doing a song about a shiny eardrum,
that actually came out very nice. Next up was Matt, Joy, and Eddie, doing a
Letter to the Editor, which was pretty lame. The finale was pet peeves, and
it was pretty good. We left after that show, and caught the bus back to Port
Orleans, getting back at 1:15am.

Next up, Tuesdays installment.....

 

[MajorWoody]

Who :

Bill, 44, State Police Investigator, numerous WDW trips and annual
passholder

Janine, daughter, age 15, numerous WDW trips and also AP holder

When :

Wednesday 9/18/02 thru Tuesday 9/24/02

Where :

Port Orleans, French Qtr

Plans:

This trip was originally supposed to be my wife & I, for the Epcot Pin
Event, but she was unable to get the time off. So we decided I would go with
our youngest daughter, and make it a week instead of a long weekend, and
still hit the pin event.

The Story:
Day 7, Tues 9/24/02

We woke up at 9:00am, which was pretty good considering the late night. We
packed up, and loaded up the car, which didn't take too long. We then hit
the food court at 10:30am, and I had the pineapple crumb cake, while Janine
had the chocolate chip muffin, the total coming to $5.18. The pineapple crumb cake was very good. I had been eyeing it all week, and finally got to sample it. After eating, we
drove to MGM, and got stuck parking at the very end of a parking row. It was
quite the hike from there to the tram, I don't recall ever being at the far
end of a lane before. We entered the park, and I ended up trading pins with
a Japanese couple near the One Mans Dream theater. We then went to try our
luck at Millionaire. We were right on time for a show, and entered the
theater. They did the fastest finger, and the winner ended up being a couple
tied for the fastest time. That caused a a delay, as they kept re-doing the
fastest finger for those two, but they kept screwing up, and they eventually
wasted close to 10 minutes, before the wife finally decided to concede
defeat to the husband, and let him go to the hot seat. The show was pretty
short due to the wasted time with those two, and the best score I managed on
the board was #5. After the show, we went and caught One Mans Dream, and
enjoyed it immensely. We then got a 1:00pm FP for Millionaire, and made a
lunch ressie for 2:20pm for Hollywood & Vine. We then returned to
Millionaire, and it was a tough show. At one point we were at #3 & #4
respectively, but that was the best we could manage. After the show, we went
to RnRC, and rode it with no wait, once again snagging the front seat. We
then hoofed over to Hollywood & Vine for our lunch.

I always enjoy the selections at Hollywood & Vine, especially the
bruschetta. I had that, plus Buffalo Mozzarella, baked beans, the sausage
( which wasn't that good), the sliced steak, and the key lime cake, which was
excellent. The total was $38, $45 with tip. We left the park at 3:15pm, and
sadly, left the property to head to the airport. We made a quick stop on 192
for gas, which cost $15, not bad for the whole week. We then arrived at MCO
at 4:00pm, dropped off the car with no problems, and checked the bill, which
came to $164.51. We made it to the Southwest counter, and got a "B" boarding
pass, same as when we came down. The plane was a bit late, and when we
boarded, we got row 16, just behind the right wing. The flight back was very
bumpy, but we made it to Albany a little after 9:20pm. We got our luggage,
got the van, paid the $35 parking fee, which is pretty reasonable as
airports go, and made it home in under an hour.

 

[MajorWoody]

Who :

Bill, 44, State Police Investigator, numerous WDW trips and annual
passholder

Janine, daughter, age 15, numerous WDW trips and also AP holder

When :

Wednesday 9/18/02 thru Tuesday 9/24/02

Where :

Port Orleans, French Qtr

Plans:

This trip was originally supposed to be my wife & I, for the Epcot Pin
Event, but she was unable to get the time off. So we decided I would go with
our youngest daughter, and make it a week instead of a long weekend, and
still hit the pin event.

Overall, the trip was very nice. We did several new things, such as the Mad
Tea Party ( fun), the Liberty Belle boat ride ( dull), attended a Pin Event
( fun, but glad we didn't pay extra for the package), and chowed down at
Pecos Bills ( also much better than I expected). We continued with some old
tradtions, such as me getting a haircut at the Magic Kingdom ( although the
buzz cut was a new one for me), and catching Illuminations on the final
evening. We also got in another run on the water mice, even if it was caught short by the weather.
We got to eat at Boma twice, and Chef's De France, and enjoyed Kaki
Goris.

We also really enjoyed the time at the American Adventure, especially the
Fife & Drum Corps, and the Voices of Liberty. We loved SpectroMagic, and
wish it was run more often.

We missed out on Off Kilter this trip, due to our schedule and their days
off not matching. We also missed Beauty & The Beast at MGM due to our
schedule.

We had great experiences with CM's such as Scoop, and Ron the bus driver,
and only one bad experience with a CM, Sammy at the TTC Bus Office. We also
lucked out catching Layden at the Comedy Warehouse one more time.

Next trip starts Dec 7th, and I can't wait....

Hope to see you real soon......


Thanks for reading, and take care,

Bill

 

[Annie&Hallie'sMom]

Bill,

It was a real pleasure reading your dad/daughter report.

Liz

 

[rlduvall]

I usually never reply to trip reports, but I thoroughly enjoyed your father/daughter trip. Can't wait to take my 3 year old son. I know, won't be quite as fast paced. LOL Thanks for relaying the different meal costs. Helps to budget for future trips.

 

[MajorWoody]

Thanks for the kind comments. Next trip is less than one month away, and will just be my and me son, as once again the wife is unable to get the time off, and we had already planned to host a few RADP meets, plus we'll be at the next Pin Event at MGM.

Thanks, and take care,

Bill

 

[vald1977]

Thanks so much for posting your trip report. It sounds like you and your daughter had a great time together. I also really enjoyed how you included the prices of the different meals and souvenirs you purchased. It really helps me get a feel for how much $ I should save for these things. I have to tell you though, my jaw hit the floor when I read that $457.00 total for the pins. I probably would have blocked that one out of my memory ! Thanks again for sharing your trip with us and I hope your upcoming trip is just as magical.

 

[Credit Man]

WOW!! What a great report. I look forward to the day that DD and I can do a trip together.

 

[binkyj826]

what or who is RADP?

 

[Boots]

Sounds like a great father-daughter vacation!

 

[MajorWoody]

Hello Binky,

RADP stands for rec.arts.disney.parks

That is the Disney parks newsgroup on usenet, where I am a frequent poster.

Take care, and thanks for reading

Bill

 

[kaguilbeau]

Very interesting reading . . . how do you actually approach someone about trading a pin? How do you know which ones they are willing to part with?

What about the 15 yr old in Pleasure Island? I have 12, 14, & 15 yr old girls and wondered if they would enjoy the comedy warehouse or some of the other things. Seems like you stayed late into the night there. Did it get too "adult"?

Thanks for the info

Kim

 

[nativetxn]

I read all of your reports and enjoyed each one. What a great father/daughter trip you had.

Wear your lime green ribbons in December, there will be lots of DISers there then, perhaps we will meet up

 

[MajorWoody]

Hello Kaguilbeau,

Thanks for reading and providing some questions.

In regards to the pin trading, if you see a CM wearing a lanyard, you can ask them ( nicely, as some people can be very rude about it) if you can see their pins. If you see one you'd like, ask them to trade for one of yours. They will let you select the one you want to give up, so you don't have to worry about losing a special pin. Keep in mind that only the pins on their lanyards are fair game. Other pins, such as name tags, trainer pins, etc that are on their uniform are not tradeable. For some more details on pin trading, check out either of these two websites:

www.dizpins.com

www.dizneypins.com

You can also check out the offical Disney pin trading site, I believe it's at :

www.disneypintrading.com

Getting to Comedy Warehouse, when I bring my daughter, I try to make it for a non-weekend night, as the crowds aren't as bad. In addition, I usually try for earlier shows, because later in the night you end up with drunks in the crowd who tend to throw out improper comments and remarks. Usually the earliest show is pretty clean, but later at night you might encounter some things you probably wouldn't want your youngsters to hear.

Hope that helps,

Take care,

Bill

 

[binkyj826]

Hi MajorWoody

How do you get to RADP? Is as helpful as this board ?

Tammie